Yay for Saturday! I hope you are all enjoying your weekend so far.

How about I preface this post by saying it was nearly impossible for me to take any appetizing photos of what you are about to see. I just couldn’t. With that being said, I want to share with you how I made my first every batch of homemade apple butter in the crock pot, with the help of one of my wonderful reader’s suggestions and Google for extra guidance.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

1. Peel, core and dice apples. Place into large crockpot. Sprinkle heavily with cinnamon and a drizzle of honey if you wish . *Next time I will probably add in some nutmeg or cloves.

2. Cover the pot and set on low. Let it go for 24 hours, stirring occasionally when you around the house.

3. Add 1 cup of water, stir and cover. Repeat this process 2 more times for a total of 72 hours or 3 days.

4. By the end of day 3, the apple butter will take on a deep brown color which frankly, looks very unappetizing. At this point, you could leave your apple butter a little lumpy like in the photos below…

Of you can blend until smooth. I chose the latter. I used an immersion blender right in the crockpot to work it until smooth.

If you make a small batch of apple butter and plan to use it within two weeks or so, you can ladle it into an air-tight container and store in your refrigerator. If you make a humongous batch like I did, you might need to do some canning.

The Canning Process

This was my first time canning and it really wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I thank Google again for getting me through this process…

1. Wash canning materials in hot soapy water. Place glass containers in hot boiling water for 5 minutes to sterilize, making sure they are fully dispersed with about 2 inches of water on top and that the jars do not touch. Place lids in a separate pot of hot water but not boiling.

Fill jars with apple butter leaving about 1/2 inch space on top. Cover with lids and screw on top.

Place back into boiling water for 10 minutes, again making sure that water covers the tops of the jars by about 2 inches and that the jars do not touch.

Remove from water carefully and let cool on cooling rack. You will hear a popping noise from the lids once they start to cool which means they are sealed tight!

Store in your pantry and enjoy all winter long! Refrigerate after opening.

Some recipes for apple butter call for pectin and added sugar, but since I am following the SCD, I chose not to include those ingredients. The result is a very subtle apple butter with the perfect amount of sweetness, perfect for topping toast, muffins, crackers, or right off of a spoon. The great thing about this 3-day crock pot process is that your house smells amazing the whole time. Can’t beat that cinnamon apple smell! So fall, so comforting.

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I’m off for a run and a few other errands before some crazy fun festivities happen this weekend including celebrating me and my honey’s ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! The actual date is October 1st but since that is a Monday we are celebrating this weekend. I look forward to filling you in later.

Hope you all have a super Saturday. Catch up with you soon!